Movie review: Mostly female ‘Ocean’s 8’ is fun, but could use a few (more) good men

Ed Symkus More Content Now

Wednesday

Jun 6, 2018 at 9:00 AM

The “Ocean’s” movies have been a boys club, with a few women on the sidelines, since the first one, “Ocean’s 11,” hit it big in 1960, telling the story of Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra), along with his pals, as they pulled off a series of heists in Las Vegas. Four decades later, the film got the remake treatment, with George Clooney taking over the lead role. Received with open arms by audiences, it spawned two sequels, featuring the same male-heavy casting. Now, in an age when remakes and sequels are the norm, when political and cultural climates resulted in a “Ghostbusters” reboot with women stepping into the original roles and the silly idea of a female James Bond making the rounds, we’ve got an “Ocean’s 8” filled with gal pals.

Was that enough reason to make this movie? Maybe. Is it a good film? It’s not a bad film. Will there be an “Ocean’s 9?” I doubt it.

But let’s meet the “8” of the title. Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) is Danny Ocean’s sister. Recently released from a five-year jail stint for some non-heinous crime, she now says she wants “the simple life.” But after a lot of thinking and planning in the hoosegow, and coming from a criminal family, there’s no doubt she wants more than just the simple life.

It’s time to bring together some old friends and acquaintances, to bring some new folks into the fold, and to pull off a heist that would have made her (apparently late) brother proud.

The other seven women who make up the “8” are: Lou (Cate Blanchett), Debbie’s former partner in crime, who has cleaned up her act; fashion designer Rose (Helena Bonham Carter), who has fallen from grace in her profession and is having cash flow problems; Daphne (Anne Hathaway), Hollywood’s current short-tempered, full-of-herself “It Girl”; Amita (Mindy Kaling), who unhappily works in her family’s diamond business; Tammy (Sarah Paulson), a not-quite-recovered former kleptomaniac; Nine Ball (Rihanna), an expert computer hacker; and Constance (Awkwafina), a fast-talking street hustler who runs a masterful game of three-card monte.

The plan is simple on paper, but complicated to put into action. Here’s just a sliver of it. Daphne will be hosting the upcoming annual gala at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Maybe Rose can get the gig of dressing her for the fashionable event. Daphne has simply GOT to wear a six-pound, one-of-a-kind Cartier necklace that’s so valuable, its theft would earn each participant $16.5 million.

Add to that a series of glitches and accompanying solutions to them, a convoluted additional story that has Debbie keeping some secrets and her attempt to do a job within a job, and the unforgivable error of including a dreadful updating of Nancy Sinatra’s great “Boots,” with her original vocals and added drum loops (but, hey, it’s a Sinatra connection). A couple of guys eventually get featured roles here, and the one by James Corden as an insurance investigator is one of the film’s bright spots.

A generous amount of time is spent with cameras careening through the Met’s galleries and around New York City, so plenty of fine art and recognizable landmarks are on display. As far as the acting, “Ocean’s 8” is a good example of how to present an ensemble piece, with no character stepping out in front of anyone else, and everyone working well together. The writing doesn’t fare as well, in that the dialogue doesn’t have nearly enough sparkle for a caper story of this sort.

The movie does feature some of the slick sensibility that Steven Soderbergh brought to the previous “Ocean’s” entries, which he directed. But he stuck with wearing his producer hat this time, handing off directing chores to Gary Ross (“Pleasantville,” “The Hunger Games”). There’s really no problem with what Ross does here, as the film moves along briskly. But something seems to be missing, aside from the men.

— Ed Symkus writes about movies for More Content Now. He can be reached at esymkus@rcn.com.